PwC executive describes them as a 'playground' for AI experimentation
PwC is holding "prompting parties" for employees in a bid to make them feel more comfortable in using AI tools at work, according to reports.
Prompting parties, launched in March, are group sessions run by either an AI leader or independently among teams to help employees use the company's AI tools in a low-stakes format, Business Insider reported.
Leah Houde, the chief learning officer at PwC, described the group sessions to the news outlet as a "playground where I'm not working on a client deliverable or writing an email to my boss or something that might give me anxiety that I don't want to mess up with AI."
The sessions focus on real-use cases, where employees can experiment with AI, learn from each other's prompts, and give them new ideas about what AI can do.
Nearly 500 prompting parties have been launched since the programme was introduced last year, Business Insider reported. However, PwC plans on increasing them as more than 800 more sessions have been requested.
Skills gap involving AI
The prompting parties come as the Big Four professional services firm observed a skills gap when it came to the AI tools they deployed, despite interest in the technologies.
In fact, AI was one of the top five terms searched in PwC's internal learning and development platform in 2024, Business Insider reported.
PwC has invested $1 billion over three years to expand its AI capabilities. Among the tools it deployed are Microsoft Copilot and its own version of ChatGPT dubbed as "ChatPwC."
It also launched an upskilling initiative called My AI last year, which aims to train employees on the responsible utilisation of AI.
The high interest but low adoption of AI at PwC reflects the situation for organisations across the world, where employees remain hesitant to use the technology at work.
Even HR leaders, who were surveyed last year by Deel, have an adoption rate of 38% despite their optimism and acknowledgement of AI's benefits.
